At the present time swimming pools are winterized by removal of large quantities of water from the pool sufficient to expose the inlet opening of the water leading from the pumps into the upper lateral wall of the pool. Once the inlet is exposed the compressor is attached at either the filter end or the pool inlets, turned on and run with air blown through the lines until all of the water in the line is expelled back either into the pool or expelled from the filter and the lines from the recirculative pump to the pool are clear of water. The pool openings are then capped with a rubber expansion plug and the pool refilled and covered with a vinyl pool cover for the winter.
The time and expense of this mode of operation is of course obvious. In addition to the loss of hundreds and perhaps thousands of gallons of water in the process of winterizing the pool, the labor factor involved in removing and refilling all this water is not inconsiderable. The use of the disconnect unit cuts the time and labor of winterizing the pool in half each year and hence drastically cuts the cost to the consumer of maintaining a swimming pool. The use of the disconnect plug guarantees to the pool owner as well as the service and maintenance crew that all pool lines are water free at the time that they finish their processing of the pool in preparation for the freezing temperature of winter.
The known and current method of winterizing swimming pools is with a three inch pump which is used to pump out several thousand gallons of water and drop the water level of the pool anywhere from 2 to 3 feet.
When this water level is depressed this exposes the water inlet and the skimmer device which is built into one concrete wall of the pool and connected by pipe to the filter system in the pool house as well as the main suction drain in the bottom of the pool. Under current winterizing, one either attaches an air compressor line at the skimmer cavity and blows water free of the lines from the pool skimmer to the filter station which is usually at a distance of from 20 to 100 feet away or in a similar manner clears the line from the skimmer to the main drain at the center of the pool which is usually a distance of about 15 to 20 feet away. With either operation it is required to keep an air gap of at least 2 feet in either direction to prevent freeze up. The creation of the air barrier in the lines at present is difficult because it involves simultaneously removing the air compressor nozzle and inserting the rubber plug before the water rushes back into the line.
In addition to the foregoing problems with pool winterizing the maintainence crew bringing in pumps and discharge hoses over the pool owner's property frequently involves marking walkways and pool areas with rubber hose smudges. Frequently the release of the water causes flooding of the adjacent land in the pool site at winterizing times.
It would obviously be of advantage to the pool owner to avoid these problems and have available a simple inexpensive means of disconnecting and cleaning the pool lines of water to result in a safe and simple reconnect or spring opening as well as a quick and efficient pool shut down. The present invention in pool disconnect plug device is designed to afford these advantages.